High chair latch mechanism

ABSTRACT

A high chair tray latch mechanism comprising a housing secured to the underside of a high chair tray with movable latches on the opposed side of said housing for engaging apertures in the arms of the chair. A bell crank is rotatably mounted centrally within the housing between the movable latches. First and second rigid rods are pivotally attached at one end to opposite arms of the bell crank and the first and second arms are pivotally attached at their other ends to their respective latches. The crank includes a spring which rotatably biases the crank in a direction to engage the latches with the holes in the arms of the chair. A cable is connected between the crank an a lever located on the underside of the forward part of the tray. Manual squeezing of the lever relative to the tray foreshortens the cable so as to rotate the crank. Rotation of the crank overcomes the bias of the spring and the rigid rods release the latches outwardly from the holes in the arms of the high chair so that the tray may be adjusted or removed.

present invention relates to a high chair tray latch mechanism forattachment and removal of a high chair tray. More specifically, theinvention is directed to a mechanism which can be operated with one handreleasing the catches on each side of the tray from the associated armsof the high chair.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A number of mechanisms for releasing high chair trays from their chairshave been proposed and are in use. Generally, these mechanisms aredirected to the desirable feature of removing a high chair tray from ahigh chair with one hand, leaving the other hand free to carry theinfant or child to be seated in the high chair. Most of the mechanismsdesigned to use only one hand to release the tray operate from the sideof the tray. This obviously is disadvantageous in attempting to removethe tray, particularly if it has objects on the tray. Those trays thatpresently have a centrally-located front release operate by having toeither push the release back or pull the release forward, which isentirely contrary to the grasping action of the human hand that isnecessary to hold and remove or adjust the tray.

Accordingly, it is the object of this invention to provide asingle-handed release mechanism for the tray of a high chair.

Another object of the invention is to provide a one-hand releasemechanism wherein the release is actuated by a squeezing motionexemplified by the grasping of the human hand.

A further object of this invention is to provide a one-hand releasemechanism for the tray of a high chair wherein the release mechanism islocated centrally at the front of the tray so as to provide not onlyrelease but removal of the tray with one hand.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from thefollowing description, taken together with the drawings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention provides a high chair latch mechanism which includes ahousing secured to the underside of the high chair tray, with themechanism being mounted within the housing and the housing beingsubsequently secured to the underside of the tray. The mechanismincludes latches on opposite sides of the housing for engaging aperturesin the arms of the chair. A bell crank is rotatably mounted centrallywithin the housing between the movable latches. The bell crank includesa spring which rotatably biases the crank in a direction to engage thelatches with holes in the arms of the chair. First and second rigid rodsare pivotally attached to opposite arms of the bell crank and said firstand second arms are pivotally connected to opposite latches. A cable isconnected between the crank and a lever located on the underside of theforward part of the tray. Manual actuation of the lever by squeezing thelever against the tray pulls and foreshortens the cable by pulling itover a pin so as to rotate the crank against the bias of the spring soas to move and release the latches from the holes in the arms of thehigh chair so that the tray may be adjusted or removed.

The high chair latch mechanism of this invention particularly providesmeans for releasing the latch mechanisms while still maintaining controlof the tray by locating the release lever in the middle of the tray sothat with one hand the lever may be squeezed toward the tray so that thetray may be released for adjustment or removal regardless of the factthat articles may be still placed upon the tray.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the housing and lever of the present,invention attached to the underside of the high chair tray;

FIG. 2 is a view of the mechanism of the present invention with thebottom of the housing removed; and

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of FIG. 2 taken through the lines 3--3 ofFIG. 2;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a perspective view of the undersideof the tray incorporating the latch mechanism of the present invention.

Tray 11, which is a standard type tray with reinforcing structure moldedbeneath the tray, includes housing 13 secured to the underside of thetray. Housing 13 terminates at either end in flanges 15 and 17, whichinclude arcuate inner surfaces 19 and a similar surface adjacent flange15. Molded beneath housing 13 are guides 21 and 23, which also haveinternal arcuate surfaces. Guides 21 and 23 and flanges 15 and 17 aredesigned so as to encompass arms 25 of the high chair itself. One arm isdisclosed in dotted lines for illustrative purposes. Leg 29 is integralwith and extends from housing 13 and terminates at an end to which lever27 is pivotally attached by means of pin 31. Also illustrated are latchpins 33 and 35, which terminate in U-shaped ends which mate withapertures or holes in the arms of the high chair so as to lock the trayin a position on the high chair.

Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown the mechanism of the presentinvention which is secured to and enclosed within housing 13 of FIG. 1.For clarity purposes, the bottom of housing 13 has been removed. It isto be understood that in constructing the tray, the mechanisms are allsecured within the housing and the housing is then secured to the bottomof the tray by means such as screws 37 or the like. After the housinghas been secured to the tray, lever 27 is mounted on the housing forrotation by means of pin 31. Referring specifically to FIGS. 2 and 3,bell crank 41 is mounted centrally to housing 13 for rotation by meansof pin 43.

Rigid rod 45 is secured to one arm of bell crank 41 by means of pin 46,which permits relative rotation between the bell crank and rod 45. Rod45 is rotatably secured at its other end to end plate 47 of rod 49 bymeans such as pin 48. Plate 47 is integral with rod 49, which terminatesin latch pin 33, as illustrated in FIG. 1.

In like manner, rod 53 is rotatably secured to the other arm of bellcrank 41 by means of pin 55. The other end of rod 53 is secured to endplate 57, which is integral with rod 59, by means of pin 58. Rod 59terminates in latch pin 35. Rods 49 and 59 pass through apertures inhousing 13, as do the terminal ends of latch pins 33 and 35, so as tokeep the rods and pins aligned during movement. In the illustration ofFIG. 2, both latch pins 33 and 35 are in their locked position, whereinthey have mated with the arms (not shown) of the high chair, asillustrated in the solid lines of the drawing. Rigid rods 45 and 53 arebiased in this position by means of spring 63, which is secured tohousing 13 at one end 65 and is secured at the other end within notch 67of bell crank 41. This biases the bell crank in the direction as shownin arrow A.

Cable 69 is secured to the operating arm of bell crank 41 by means suchas pin 71 between pins 55 and 46. This cable passes through flange 75,and ball 77 is crimped about the cable to hold it in the position shownin FIG. 3. Flange 75 is an extension of lever 27 and moves with lever27.

Referring specifically to FIG. 3, when lever, 27 is squeezed againsttray 11, flange 75 will carry cable 69 with it around pin 79, thusforeshortening the cable and rotating bell crank 41 in the direction asshown by arrow B. This moves bell crank 41 to the position shown indotted lines in FIG. 2 and also moves associated rigid rods 45 and 53 tothe position shown in dotted lines. This drives rod 43 outwardly so thatlatch pin 33 extends outwardly and is released from the associated armof the chair. In like manner, latch pin 35 is also forced outwardly soas to be released from its associated arm.

As will be obvious, this squeeze action releases the tray from itslocked position against the arms of the high chair. The tray can then beadjusted horizontally along the high chair so as to mate with otherholes in the arms, or it can be removed from the high chair. This entireoperation, including adjustment or removal, may be accomplished by asqueezing operation with one hand while holding the child in the otherarm. When it is desired to place the tray back on the arms of the highchair, the operation is reversed. The person working with the traygrasps the tray and the lever in one hand, squeezes the lever so as tomove the latches outwardly, slides the tray on the arms of the highchair to the position desired, releases the lever and allows the catchesto engage the holes within the arms of the chair.

As will now be obvious, the present invention provides a single-handedoperation for removal, adjustment, and replacement of a high chair trayon the arms of the high chair while maintaining control of the traybecause of the central support of the hand on the tray. Further, themechanism provides a simplified operation with minimal parts whileobtaining the desired results.

The above description and drawings are descriptive, only, since it isobvious that equivalent components could be used without departing fromthe invention, the scope of which is to be limited only by the followingclaims.

I claim:
 1. A high chair tray latch mechanism for removably securing atray to the arms of a high chair, said latch mechanism comprisingahousing secured to the underside of a high chair tray; a bell crankrotatably mounted substantially centrally within said housing; first andsecond latches mounted at opposite ends of said housing, said latchesadapted to mate with apertures in the arms of a high chair; first andsecond rigid bars pivotally connected between opposite arms of said bellcrank and said first and second latches; spring means for biasing saidbell crank in a direction to maintain said latches in a locked positionwithin their respective arms of said high chair; a cable operativelyconnected at one end to said bell crank between said arms whereby aforce exerted on said cable rotates said bell crank so as to overcomethe bias of said springs and move said latches to an unlocked positionrelative to said high chair arms; and a lever secured to said housingand the other end of said cable whereby squeezing said lever againstsaid tray foreshortens said cable and unlocks said latches.
 2. The highchair latch mechanism of claim 1 wherein said lever is securedsubstantially centrally to the outer edge of said
 3. A high chair latchmechanism for removably securing a tray to the arms of a high chair,said latch mechanism comprisinga high chair tray; a bell crank rotatablymounted to the underside of said tray; first and second latch meansmounted on the underside of said tray, said latch means adapted to matewith apertures in the arms of a high chair; first and second rigid barspivotally connected between opposite arms of said bell crank and saidfirst and second latch means; spring means for biasing said bell crankin a direction so as to maintain said latch means in a mated positionwithin said apertures in said arms of said chair; a lever rotatablymounted to the underside of the forward upper edge of said tray; and acable operatively connected at one end to said bell crank and at theother end to said lever; whereby manual squeezing of said lever againstsaid forward end of said tray foreshortens said cable, rotating saidbell crank against said spring bias and releasing said latches as aresult of outward extension of said rods.
 4. The latch mechanism ofclaim 3 wherein said lever is mounted substantially centrally under saidforward upper edge of said tray.